Maysles Cinema, a new theater devoted to documentary film and operated by the Maysles Institute, will present "Strangers in Strange Lands: The Explorations of Great French Directors," from July 13 through August 5, 2008. The series features 11 films-many rarely seen in the United States-by great French directors including Louis Malle, Jean Vigo, Chantal Akerman, Jean Epstein, Agnès Varda, and Jean Painlevé-as they explore territory from 1960's India to 1930's Nice; from the 1970's in New York City to the 1920's at the bottom of the sea. Screenings are open to the public at the suggested admission of $7.

The five programs in the series feature seminal works of avant-garde documentary that range in time period from the classic through the contemporary, and travel through exotic, familiar, and even internal terrain. A highlight of the series is the U.S. premiere of a new restoration of Jean Epstein's Finis Terrae (1929), imported from the Gaumont-Pathé Archive in France for this series, as well as rare screenings of four science documentaries by Jean Painlevé (1928-1947), accompanied by the U.S. premiere of an enthralling new documentary on the director himself, Jean Painlevé: A Dream for Marine Biology. The film series "Strangers in Strange Lands" was guest curated by Livia Bloom, Museum of the Moving Image.

"By combining close observation with intimacy and self-inquiry, the films in this series represent artistic, environmental, and ontological inquiry at its most personal," said Ms. Bloom. "The films are entirely site-specific, distinct products of their own place, their own time, and their creators' strong authorial voices. Yet as each toys with traditional expectations of documentary, travelogue, and narrative, they capture the universal experience of being an explorer, a foreigner, and a stranger in a strange land."

Featured Works:

The Love Life of the Octopus (Les Amours de la pieuvre, Jean Painlevé, 1928, pictured); Finis Terrae (Jean Epstein, 1929); A Propos de Nice (Jean Vigo, 1930); The Sea-horse (L'hippocampe, Jean Painlevé, 1933); The Vampire (Le Vampire, Jean Painlevé, 1939); Freshwater Assassins (Assassins d'eau douce, Jean Painlevé, 1947); Phantom India (7 episodes, Louis Malle, 1969); News From Home (Chantal Akerman, 1977); L'opéra Mouffe (Agnès Varda, 1958); The Gleaners and I (Agnès Varda, 2000); Jean Painlevé: A Dream for Marine Biology (François Lévy-Kuentz, 2005)

Program information:

Strangers in Strange Lands: The Explorations of Great French Directors

Related Articles:
World of Wander by Livia Bloom posted Aug. 04, 2008